


To Catch a Thief

by thoroughlynerdy



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Anal Sex, Community: je_fqfest, M/M, Magazine AU, Oral Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-21
Updated: 2013-08-21
Packaged: 2017-12-24 04:48:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/935559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thoroughlynerdy/pseuds/thoroughlynerdy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sho is content with his life working at <i>Tempest</i>, but a new co-worker and someone stealing his ideas are complicating things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Catch a Thief

**Author's Note:**

> Written for piecesofalice in the 2013 JE FQ-Fest exchange. The title is shamelessly stolen from the classic movie and a **huge** thank you goes out to N for the encouragement and A for the wonderful beta!. Any and all concrit would be very much appreciated!

As he sipped his coffee and navigated the busy sidewalks of Tokyo, Sakurai Sho lost himself in trying to formulate the opening sentences of his newest article. He had a deadline to meet soon and so far nothing he had tried felt right for the piece. He was trying to find a new angle for touting the benefits of alternative forms of energy, but everything seemed boring. There were only so many ways to say “fossil fuel supplies are starting to dwindle and the nation should be trying harder to wean itself off of nuclear energy to reduce the need for so many power plants” without sounding redundant.

When he’d settled on this topic, Sho had started making smaller changes in his everyday life for research—he walked places more often now instead of taking the train or a taxi. He had invested in a solar charger for his cell phone so he could reduce the amount of time it spent plugged into the wall. He had even bought a small timer that he kept in the bathroom to start shortening his showers so he used less and less hot water as the weeks went on. All of these were relatively easy changes to make and he knew that the readers would appreciate the tips, but he also knew that none of these ideas were revolutionary.

Sho made it to work about ten minutes later and settled in at his desk. He pushed the power button on his PC and while it booted up he pulled his scone from the bag and pinched off a corner to taste it. _Good impulse buy, Sho_ he congratulated himself with a small sigh. He worked his way through his inbox while munching on the rest of the scone and sipping at his coffee. Three e-mails down the list he saw a message from his Editor-In-Chief Ohno-san requesting a meeting at 1:00 PM. Sho felt his stomach drop and quickly checked his schedule and was pleased to find that he was free since it was always a pain to try and reschedule these things. He fired off a quick e-mail confirming the meeting and soon found himself irrationally sad when the scone ran out before the e-mails. He could use some more sugar if this was how his day was going to start.

Just as Sho finally resigned himself to work on his article, he was given a reprieve in the form of one of his colleagues.

“Sho-chan!” Aiba Masaki called to him from a few cubes over and crossed the remaining distance with three long strides and a bright smile.

Aiba was the photography editor and rarely made appearances on the copy floor. He and Sho had met several years prior when they were teamed up to cover the appointment of the previous Prime Minister. They’d been fast friends and had been praised by the previous editor-in-chief for their work done together throughout the weeks of coverage. Since then they had taken every opportunity to work together and Sho was thankful to have Aiba in his life.

“Masaki-kun, what brings you over to this side of the world?” Sho asked with a smile and spun in his chair to face him.

“You never answered my mails about the softball team,” Aiba replied as he sat on the edge of Sho’s desk, his long legs splayed out before him. “I finally realized that the only way I was going to get an answer was if I cornered you. Please consider yourself cornered.”

“Ahh, that,” Sho replied guiltily. The truth was he had replied the first couple of times, but Aiba didn’t seem to want to take no for an answer so eventually he had just stopped replying. “I told you already, I’m really no good at baseball—or softball,” he corrected himself before Aiba could latch on to that idea.

“And I already told _you_ , Sho-chan, it doesn’t matter if you’re good or not. It’s just for fun!” Aiba sighed dramatically and patted Sho on the shoulder.

“But it isn’t fun if everyone is laughing at me because I missed the ball,” Sho pointed out with a sigh of his own.

“We wouldn’t do that!” Aiba protested immediately, seemingly offended by the suggestion he would act that way.

“I know you wouldn’t, Masaki, but other people—they laugh.” Sho replied darkly.

Aiba studied him quietly for a few seconds before smiling brightly again.

“Okay how about a compromise? Since you aren’t going to play, you have to promise to come and cheer us on. A softball team is nothing without a loyal group of supporters.”

Sho laughed and nodded his head in agreement, “Just let me know the schedule for the season and I will be there.”

They chatted for a few more minutes before Aiba excused himself to go to a meeting of his own.

Sho waved a small goodbye and turned back to his monitor, finally ready to get started on his article. Maybe he could have a rough draft done before his own meeting.

By the time of the meeting Sho hadn’t managed to finish his article, but he had made a major dent and was confident he could get the first draft done before he left for the day. He saved his document and locked his PC before grabbing his phone from the solar charger and setting off for Ohno’s office at the far end of the hall. He threw Ninomiya a quick wave and smile as he passed him on the way and paused outside of Ohno’s open office door before knocking quietly on the doorframe.

“Ah, Sakurai-kun, come in,” Ohno greeted him with a smiled and shoved the last bits of a sandwich into his mouth.

“Sorry, I’m a bit early—I can come back when you’ve finished?” Sho offered apologetically from the doorway.

“I’m finished now, so don’t worry about it and come in,” Ohno replied dismissively through his mouthful of sandwich.

Sho nodded and gave Ohno a rueful smile as he sat down in the chair opposite his boss.

“How’s the article?” Ohno asked flipping through a small stack of papers on his desk.

“Good. I had a little trouble at first trying to find my angle, but things are flowing nicely now. I think, anyway,”

“That’s good to hear.”

Sho couldn’t read Ohno’s expression, but that wasn’t anything new for him or the rest of the staff of _Tempest_. Unless they were about to go to print, Ohno operated as if the magazine was the least important thing in the world. He would stare blankly during meetings and look as if he could fall asleep at a moment’s notice (he was suspected of having actually dozed off during a few, but Sho didn’t believe this). However, if they were going to print, or if an article happened to catch his attention, he would suddenly perk up and act like a small child impatiently waiting for their birthday party. He would bounce in his seat and his whole face would light up.

“I’m handing it off to Fujigaya for fact checking and copy edits this afternoon—tomorrow morning at the latest so you should have it by the end of the week to look over,” Sho replied tentatively.

Ohno nodded again absently, but made no other response.

Sho shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, “Is that all you needed from me? You haven’t heard anything about someone else trying to plagiarize my ideas again?” he asked apprehensively.

“Oh! Sorry, no, I didn’t mean to worry you. I do need to talk to you about something else though,” Ohno smiled apologetically. “Ever since Okada-kun was promoted to the Health and Fitness editor, you have had a whole cubicle to yourself. I just wanted to give you a small warning that starting tomorrow you will be sharing again. Sorry for the sudden notice, but please be prepared.”

Sho nodded his understanding. He knew rationally that he couldn’t keep the space to himself, but he was hoping that they would wait just a little longer before moving someone else in. It was nice having the extra space to spread out and think.

“Can I ask who it is that will be with me?”

“Matsumoto Jun. He interned for us a couple of years ago and got hired on permanently after that. He’s been working his way up in Fashion ever since. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone move up that quickly before,” Ohno informed him with a smile.

Sho was surprised to see how much affection Ohno seemed to have for this Matsumoto.

“Is he moving to Editorial with me then?” Sho asked.

“No, he’s staying in Fashion, but they need more space so they’re sending him over because Editorial has extra. But I do think working in Editorial will be good for him. He’s a talented writer and needs to explore more than what is in or out of fashion. Maybe sitting next to you will inspire him?” Ohno smiled.

Sho felt a small stab at his ego. Ohno had never shown this kind of interest in him or any of the other journalists he’d worked with before and it was making him feel apprehensive about this guy sharing his space.

“I see. Well, if that is all, I should get back and finish that article,” Sho said gesturing towards the door.

“Of course. Thank you for your time, Sakurai-kun.”

“It’s no problem, thank you, Ohno-san,” Sho replied as he headed for the exit.

Sho made his way back to his cubicle distractedly. He was a little thrown that Ohno had so casually introduced the idea of Matsumoto coming in to potentially compete with him. And that he was supposed to somehow encourage that competition. Sho was very comfortable with the way his work life was going. He had been with the magazine for seven years and had worked his way up at a steady pace moving from Finance into Current Events four years prior. Since the move, he had focused solely on advancing his position here and taking over for Nakai-san when he either inevitably moved up the food chain or found a position at another magazine. If it was one of the juniors joining him, he wouldn’t be worrying so much. But an established staff member, who Ohno obviously had affection for, was something else entirely.

Sho sat back down at his desk, logged back into his PC, and cast his eyes around at his work space darkly. He needed to gather his things that had migrated to the other side of the area in the recent weeks, like the pile of papers and his bag which he’d developed the habit of setting on the unoccupied chair next to him. Sho had obviously shared spaces with other workers, but it was going to be a little weird getting used to having someone two and a half feet from him for eight hours a day again. He sighed deeply and got back to work finishing his article.

. . .

The next morning Sho left twenty minutes early and asked the barista for an extra latte and an extra scone to welcome Matsumoto to the cube and get off on the right foot. He had brooded about this stranger joining him for most of the previous day, then resigned himself to the idea of at least giving him a chance before deciding to hate him.

On his way in to the office he gave Becky a grateful smile when she slowed down to hold the door open for him. Between the coffee carrier and the bag of pastries, his hands were full and there was no way he could swipe his own card to gain access.

“You know if I were into women I would fight Aiba for you, right?” Sho asked her as they made their way through the lobby.

“Watch it Sakurai, Masaki knows where you sleep,” Becky said with a giggle as she pressed a hand to her cheek.

“Don’t remind me,” Sho replied with a small shudder. “Thanks for holding the door for me. I’ll see you later, okay?”

Becky nodded and gave him a small wave as she made her way towards the Fashion department.

Sho went the opposite way towards Editorial and was surprised to see a figure already occupying the desk next to his when he rounded the corner. He’d wanted a chance to settle in before the introductions. He took a quick breath then plastered a smile onto his face.

“Good morning, you must be Matsumoto,” Sho greeted the figure, his smile widened when he caught sight of his chiseled jaw and fashionably styled hair. Sho hated to admit it but when he saw how attractive his new coworker was he felt some of the apprehension of dealing with someone new dissolve. Even if he had to give up the space and befriend the competition at least he would enjoy the view.

Matsumoto gave him the briefest of nods before turning back towards his monitor to continue his work.

Sho’s smile faltered and he blinked several times before deciding that Matsumoto must be in the middle of an important sentence and that was the reason he practically ignored him.

Sho cleared his throat and set the coffee and scones on his side of the desk.

“I brought you coffee and a scone as a sort of ‘welcome to the cubicle’ thing. I know it isn’t much but—”

“Is it soy? Matsumoto interrupted him.

“No, it’s just a vanilla latte. And a cranberry cream cheese scone. They’re good. I had one yesterday.”

Matsumoto eyed him warily before reaching out and taking one of the coffees.

“Thanks for the coffee. You can keep the scone, I try to stay away from refined sugar,” Matsumoto replied with a small curl of his lip.

“Oh, well, then I hope you enjoy the coffee,” Sho replied nearly biting his tongue to stave off the comment that the vanilla latte had refined sugar in it as well.

Sho took his own cup from the carrier and took a sip as he started his morning routine of checking e-mails and reviewing the previous day’s work. He was expecting his article to be returned to him so he could enact the edits that needed to be made and give it another look over with fresh eyes to see if it still held up. He didn’t have anything from Fujigaya though, so he settled in with his coffee to knockout the rest of his opinion piece about the roles of idols in society.

Throughout the morning Sho tried in vain to start multiple conversations with his new cubemate, but found himself rebuffed each time. By lunchtime he had completely given up and sent Aiba a quick text asking if he was free so he could have some time away from the office. Mercifully Aiba replied that he was.

Twenty minutes later they were bent over steaming bowls of ramen and enjoying their food as Sho lamented the trouble of having Matsumoto Jun in his space.

“He hates me and I don’t even know why,” Sho whined then slurped up a mouthful of noodles.

“You’ve been working together for four hours, hate is probably a little strong, Sho-chan,” Aiba soothed him with a smile.

“Okay, he is clearly annoyed by my presence and I’m not sure how a first impression of giving someone coffee and breakfast deserves that kind of reaction,” Sho countered.

“First impression?” Aiba asked, his eyebrows knitting together. “We all worked together before during that last election when we needed all hands on deck when that money laundering scandal broke out right before both sides formally announced their nominations. He was just an intern, but I’m sure you two met.”

Sho stared at Aiba, mouth open and hand holding his chopsticks frozen in midair.

“Wait, he’s _that_ Matsumoto?” Sho asked again.

Aiba let out a bark of laughter at Sho’s reaction.

“How in the hell does someone change that much in four years? Have you seen him? He got seriously hot.”

Aiba laughed at him again. “Did you do anything to him back then that might have left a bad taste in his mouth?” Aiba asked curiously as he shoveled a bit of food into his mouth.

“Not that I can think of. I actually don’t think I paid him much attention besides using him as a coffee runner and general errand-boy. Maybe that’s why he’s pissed though. What do you know about him now?” Sho asked curiously.

Aiba looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Becky has mentioned him a couple of times. He’s been in fashion about two years longer than her and from what she has said he is pretty single-minded in his focus on work. He knows pretty much everything about all of the designers they cover and he’s always the one they send to events to do the important interviews. She’s also pretty sure he’s gay.” Aiba had slipped in that last bit of information as offhandedly as possible.

“So?” Sho asked narrowing his eyes.

“Maybe you guys will hit it off?” Aiba answered innocently.

Sho rolled his eyes. Ever since Aiba had moved in with Becky the previous winter he had fallen into that disgusting habit people in love often did of trying to set their friends up so that they could be in love too.

“Like I said, he is hot now, but just because I find him attractive doesn’t mean I want to date him, Masaki. I don’t even know him. I also don’t need you or Becky trying to set me up. Again. All I want right now is to get him to say more than three syllables in a row to me so that I don’t feel like I have to tiptoe around him for eight hours a day.”

“’Harder, faster, oh God, yes there!’ Is more than three syllables in a row,” Aiba offered unhelpfully.

Sho threw a bunched up napkin in reply and fought the blush that was creeping up his neck, “Fuck you.”

“Sorry, I usually do the fucking,” Aiba replied with a grin.  
Sho let out an exasperated noise and chose to return to his lunch rather than engaging Aiba again.

. . .

On his way back to the office Sho resolved to make things right with Matsumoto. He wasn’t one of those people who had to be liked by everyone he met, but he did feel it was important to get along with coworkers. Hostile environments were rarely productive in his experience and while Matsumoto wasn’t hostile per se, he was definitely icy and that made Sho feel uneasy.

Sho greeted Matsumoto again as he sat back down and swiveled his chair in his direction to try and strike up another conversation.

“I wanted to apologize,” Sho began carefully.

Matsumoto turned to look at him curiously.

“I was having lunch with a friend and he pointed out that I’m an idiot and that we’ve worked together before. I should have realized, so, I’m sorry.”

“Uh, thanks, but really there is no need to apologize” Matsumoto replied with a small nod.

“So how’s your story?” Sho blurted before Jun had the chance to turn around and ignore him again.

“Good,” Matsumoto replied with an odd look and Sho fought the urge to let out a noise of frustration at yet another monosyllabic response.

“I’m waiting on a few more photos from Becky-chan before I wrap it up, but I think Ohno-san will be pleased.” Matsumoto continued to both Sho’s surprise and delight.

“I don’t think you have to worry about Ohno-san. From what I can tell he seems to like you,” Sho said thoughtfully.

Matsumoto shrugged in reply and Sho couldn’t help but be shocked at the way this guy was so cavalier about things. He was saved from having to come up with a reply when Ninomiya poked his head around the partition.

“Jun-pon!” Ninomiya exclaimed with a smile.

Matsumoto’s gaze snapped towards the voice and Sho was surprised to see him fighting off a smile.

“I told you not to call me that,” Jun grumbled in response. “If this is what I’m going to have to deal with every day I’m telling Ohno I’m going back to the other side. I don’t care if I have to set up on the floor of Hina’s cube,” he continued turning to face Nino.

Nino’s smile widened even further and Sho glanced between them curiously. He had known Nino for a few years now and he’d never heard him mention knowing Matsumoto before.

“Is Jun-pon doing that menacing silence thing, Sho-kun?” Nino asked with an air of mock concern.

Sho laughed at both the question and the way Matsumoto’s face registered shock and then annoyance.

“We were just talking about his article when you walked up,” Sho replied diplomatically.

Nino stared back at him, expression unreadable for a few seconds before nodding.

“Excellent news. Don’t let him fool you with that asshole demeanor. Our Jun is really just painfully shy sometimes so he overcompensates with that asshole-like charm.”

Jun was openly gaping now. “Don’t you have other things you should be doing instead of bothering us? Like I don’t know, your job or something?” Jun asked glaring at Nino.

“I am doing my job—Oh-chan sent me over to check and see how you were settling in. I’ll tell him you have the same stick up your ass as always,” Nino smiled sweetly then gave a small salute before walking away.

Jun let out a small strangled noise and Sho couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped his lips. At Jun’s dark look Sho gave him an apologetic smile.

“I find it really weird he calls our boss ‘Oh-chan,’” Sho offered peaceably.

“One of the perks of fucking the boss?” Jun replied with a shrug.

“Are you serious?” Sho asked in shock. There had been rumors floating around the office of Nino and Ohno for a while, but neither party had confirmed or denied anything as far as Sho knew so he had just chalked it up to idle gossip.

“You didn’t know?” Jun asked giving Sho a dubious look. “Everyone knows. It’s completely unprofessional but neither of them cares. Plus they started after Nino got the promotion so it’s not like someone can file a complaint that Nino is getting special treatment now.”

“Well, at least someone is getting some,” Sho said wistfully as he swiveled back to face his computer.

Sho saw Matsumoto give him a weird look out of the corner of his eye before turning back to face his own computer to continue his work.

. . .

“Seriously?” Sho asked in annoyance as he stared down at his monitor. He’d just gotten an e-mail from Ohno with a link to the online edition of the newest issue of _Infinite_ magazine and an article by an Op-Ed columnist touting the benefits of energy conservation and the simple steps the reader could take to reduce his carbon footprint and reduce energy consumption.

“What’s wrong?” Matsumoto asked as he set a coffee cup down on Sho’s desk and leaned in to read over Sho’s shoulder.

They had only been sharing the cubicle for a little more than a week, but Jun already felt like an old friend to Sho. He couldn’t explain it, but somehow they had just seemed to click.

“They scooped me,” Sho replied darkly.

“What?” Jun asked sharply.

“I just wrote this article. Well, not these exact words, but the exact same ideas. We just submitted it to go to print and here it is online already on another magazine’s site so there’s nothing we can do to change it,” Sho explained.

“That’s pretty normal though, to cover the same kinds of topics between magazines,” Jun pointed out.

“Same topic is normal, you’re right,” Sho conceded. “But exact same ideas isn’t. This is also the third time it has happened—different magazine, but the third time my ideas have ended up in another publication. I have to go talk to Ohno,” Sho said pushing away from his desk.

“Let me know if there is anything I can do,” Jun calld after him.

Sho gave him a small smile and headed towards their editor’s office.

“I don’t know how or why this keeps happening.” Sho lamented as he entered Ohno’s office. “It’s also a different name than either of the other articles too, so there isn’t a connection there,” Sho said as he paced in front of Ohno’s desk.

“I’ll call _Infinite’s_ editor and see what he can tell me about it,” Ohno said.

“He’s going to tell you the same thing the other one did—I’m stealing sources and you should fire me before it makes you look bad,” Sho told him miserably.

“You know I’m not going to do that, Sho,” Ohno said as he put his phone to his ear.

“Then people will start to question you,” Sho said darkly.

Ohno shrugged at him and asked whoever answered the phone to speak with Matsuoka-san.

. . .

A week and a half and still no real answers later, Nino dragged Sho out for some beers to ‘get his mind off things.’ Nino had failed to mention he had invited Matsumoto along, which wasn’t really a problem for Sho, it was just that he had found that the more he got to know the younger man, the more he found to like about him and the more attractive he became. He wasn’t opposed to dating coworkers as a rule, but it was a slippery slope he wanted to seriously think about before going down and he was hoping to blow off some steam without having to worry about keeping his hormones in check.

Sho was watching the people on the dance floor and was weighing the pros and cons of asking Jun to dance. However his debate was interrupted by Jun.

“We should make a list of suspects!” Jun said suddenly and produced a pen from seemingly nowhere and grabbed one of the stray napkins on the table.

Sho felt a stab at his resolve at the determination in Jun’s eyes.

“We’re supposed to distract Sho-kun, not remind him,” Nino admonished taking a sip of his beer.

“Who has access to your articles?” Jun asked ignoring Nino.

“Me, Ohno-san, Nagase-kun, and whichever junior staff member is free to fact-check and copy-edit,” Sho replied taking a sip of his own beer. They’d been here long enough for him to have a pleasant buzz going.

“Do you guys use the same junior staff members we do?” Jun asked as he copied down the names Sho provided.

“I think we all draw from the same pool?” Sho said casting an uncertain glance at Nino who shrugged in reply.

“Okay, who do you know for sure touched your stolen articles?” Jun tried again, pen ready.

“Uh, Ishigaki-kun, Fujigaya-kun and Chinen-kun were the ones whose names were on those, but they get passed around a lot and no one really tracks who is looking at what,” Sho answered taking another pull from his beer bottle.

Jun copied the names down dutifully.

“I say it’s Chinen,” Nino offered brightly.

“Why do you think it’s him? I don’t know the other two very well, but I’ve never had a problem with Chinen-kun,” Jun asked interestedly and made a note next to Chinen’s name.

“He’s just bitter because Chinen is nubile and young and has a crush on Ohno-san,” Sho explained with a patronizing pat on Nino’s shoulder.

Nino flipped him off and smiled brightly at Jun.

“Anyway,” Sho continued, “since Ohno hasn’t taken any action against me, he’s the one the other editors are beginning to question now. That bitch from Sparkle put something up on her blog about him being a bad editor since the final product is ultimately his responsibility as Editor-in-Chief. Chinen-kun loves Ohno too much to do that,”

“Who is your prime suspect then?” Nino challenged.

“I’m not sure.” Sho answered truthfully. “This was my first time working with Ishigaki-kun and he seems like a good kid. Chinen-kun is always helpful and Fujigaya-kun has been around for as long as I can remember—he could practically run the magazine by now,” Sho said with a fond smile.

“You’re forgetting someone,” Nino said after a minute of silence.

“I am?” Sho asked, brow furrowing in thought.

Nino snatched the pen and napkin from Jun and scrawled something before he could protest. He slid it back with a smile.

“Matsumoto Jun,” Jun read, eyes widening at the accusation.

“Nino, that’s ridiculous, I—”

“Jun-kun wasn’t sharing the cube with me when the first idea was stolen,” Sho interrupted giving Jun a small smile.

“Ah, you’re right!” Nino said feigning an air of apology, “Of course he wasn’t. How about we toast to Jun-pon’s innocence then?” Nino asked raising his bottle.

Jun rolled his eyes but complied as Sho grinned and mirrored their actions.

“Cheers!”

“Okay, now that we’ve established Jun’s innocence, I’m sorry but I have somewhere to be. I will see you both at work on Monday. Have an excellent rest of the evening.”

Nino was halfway across the dance floor before either Jun or Sho could protest.

Sho turned and felt his heart skip a beat when his eyes landed on Jun. He was staring at the space Nino just vacated with a puzzled look on his face.

“Dance with me,” The request left Sho’s mouth before he had fully processed the statement but he chalked it up to looser inhibitions due to alcohol. He may not have planned on spending his evening with Jun, but he might as well take advantage of the opportunity that had risen.

Jun stared back at him for a full five seconds and Sho felt his confidence waver before Jun was nodding.

Sho stood and took Jun’s hand, leading him out to the edge of the dance floor. Sho realized he had no plan, no idea of what to do or say once they got here, so he just wrapped his arms around Jun’s neck.

Jun turned out to be an excellent dancer and Sho found himself more and more drawn in to the moment as their bodies moved together. The music was loud and his brain was still felt a bit fuzzy, so when Sho leaned up and slotted his mouth against Jun’s it felt almost surreal, like he was watching it rather than living it. Jun’s lips were soft and when he let Sho deepen the kiss, Sho was pleased to find that Jun was also an excellent kisser.

In the back of his mind Sho knew that making out in public with his coworker was not his best move, but he also knew that he really didn’t give a fuck. He carded his fingers through Jun’s hair and grinded against his thigh, enjoying the way the action drew a grunt of approval from Jun.

“Come with me,” Sho said pulling back from the kiss and dragging one of his hands down Jun’s arm to link their hands.

Jun blinked back at him, eyes wide and nodding before the words had fully left Sho’s mouth.

Sho smiled and hauled Jun off towards the bathroom, sighing in relief when it was empty. He pulled Jun to the back stall and had him shoved up against the wall, tongue back in his mouth as his hands worked Jun’s belt open. Jun’s hands were fisting in the fabric of Sho’s shirt and pulling him closer. When Sho’s fingers started to slip under the waistband of Jun’s underwear, Jun put his palms flat against Sho’s chest and pushed him back a few paces.

“Let’s just…hang on,” Jun said breathless.

The fog over Sho’s brain started lifting with the small distance and his eyes widened as he realized his hand was still stretched out—that he was still fingering the band of Jun’s underwear.

“Sorry, sorry, that was completely—” Sho began and snatched his hand back to his side.

“It was good!” Jun interrupted quickly. “It’s just that, well, it was just a lot, in a very short amount of time,” Jun explained quickly as his hands worked to fasten his belt back into place.

“Well we should probably uh,” Sho began with an awkward glance around the stall and gestured towards the door.

“Yeah, yeah it’s getting kind of late anyway,” Jun replied.

Sho turned towards the door and silently cursed himself for putting both of them into the situation. His hand was on the metal latch when he felt Jun’s hand on his shoulder.

He turned, a questioning look on his face when Jun crushed his mouth to Sho’s once more. The kiss was less intense than their previous, but the meaning was clear: Jun was interested in more than just a one-off in the bathroom.

As they left the bar and headed towards the train station together, Sho’s mind was reeling with thoughts of what-ifs and how this would affect his work life. Usually the thought of the potential fallout of things falling apart was enough to dissuade his feelings, but it wasn’t working this time. By the time they said goodnight on the platform Sho felt like a hormonal teenager all over again as he looked forward to Monday morning.

. . .

Sho was relieved when Monday morning came and went without any hint of uncomfortable feelings within the cubicle. With the exception of a vanilla latte waiting for him on his desk, things were business as usual.

After lunch things got interesting.

“I’ve got a plan,” Jun whispered leaning in close.

Sho quirked an eyebrow at him and waited.

“Let’s do a test. We’ll come up with a couple of different articles and make sure they go through the three on the list and we track them to see what happens from there.”

“I don’t know how well that’s going to work. I mean, I checked before who had which article, but it’s nearly impossible to follow the trail.”

“I know, but this time we’ll be more careful so that we know exactly what happens with and who touches each one,” Jun offered.

“Everyone is already supposed to sign off on their edits, but we can’t really enforce that—what more can we do?” Sho asked skeptically.

“What about talking to them one on one about the piece? I know that’s not standard, but we can talk to Ohno and have him implement the new policy. He can say that it is for clarity because sometimes the reasons for edits are not clear and sometimes we don’t know who proofed the article.”

“Are you sure you’re not really an investigative reporter undercover as a fashion one?” Sho asked leaning back in his chair impressed.

“Sorry, that’s classified,” Jun replied with a wink.

. . .

Wednesday of that week they had lunch together for the first time. Sho watched in wonder as Jun produced a meticulously packed homemade bento and stared down at his own pre-made one with disinterest. The fried chicken had seemed appetizing that morning, but the sushi Jun was enjoying looked delicious.

“I should learn to cook.” Sho lamented and took a bite of his chicken.

“You don’t cook?” Jun asked curiously.

“Not very successfully, no. I get by, but that’s because I have developed a tolerance over the years,” Sho admitted sheepishly.

Jun’s smile was bright as he fished around in his bag for something.

Sho tried to shake the feeling of nervousness that was threatening to overwhelm him as they chatted. Neither of them had acknowledged the “bathroom incident” as Sho secretly liked to refer to it and he was beginning to think it would be better that way. They could pretend like it never happened and go on with business as usual.

The truth was that Sho was intrigued by Jun. He’d realized since they began working together that while Jun took time to warm up to people, once one was granted the privilege Jun was a great friend. More than offering his insight and help to track down the person responsible for jeopardizing Sho’s career, he had been there to talk through obstacles in Sho’s articles and suggest opposing ideas Sho would need to address when presenting his own opinions on the subjects.

“Thank you again for helping me,” Sho told Jun with a smile.

“If someone was trying to make me look like I was stealing all of my ideas I would want someone in my corner,” Jun shrugged. He twisted the cap on his bottle of water and took a quick sip before setting it back down on the desk.

“Still, it means a lot. So thank you,” Sho said again.

Jun waved his hand dismissively and Sho decided to drop the subject for now—he had been talking about it almost nonstop for the past few days and he wanted to focus on something else for a while.

“What’s your next article on?” he asked Jun curiously.

“The recent trend of bold floral prints that is sweeping the nation,” Jun said dramatically and reached for his bottle of water again.

“Bold floral prints?” Sho gasped theatrically eliciting a smile from Jun.

“Most of them are just this side of distasteful and somehow the prints are working for me even though I usually hate that sort of thing. It just always seems that…”

Sho didn’t mean to, but he tuned out when Jun paused briefly to take another drink of water. He was mesmerized by the way Jun’s lips looked wrapped around the neck of the bottle and the way his throat looked as he swallowed.

“…would you be interested?” Jun asked curiously.

“Yeah, sure. Wait, interested in what?” Sho asked a little frantically. He felt himself growing warm and was praying that he wasn’t blushing.

“Interested in going to the party with me,” Jun clarified. At Sho’s blank stare he shook his head with a small laugh. “I’m covering this party on Friday and would love some company who can serve as an excuse to cut out early if it gets too boring.”

“Ohh, so you want me to be the ‘Jun, I’m sorry I’m not feeling too well right now, I think it was some bad shrimp, do you mind if we leave?’ guy,” Sho said knowingly.

“Well, more the “I’m sorry, my date is allergic to bad taste and if we stay another minute he’ll go into anaphylactic shock’ guy,” Jun returned.

“Investigative journalist and creative liar, I’ll have to keep that in mind” Sho said impressed. “Sure, I’d love to go. You’ll probably want to give me a list of acceptable clothing options so I don’t embarrass you in front of your supermodel friends. My choices usually lean more towards practical than fashionable,” Sho explained with a smile.

“You could come dressed as Yatterman for all I care,” Jun said dismissively.

. . .

Sho settled on a pair of fitted jeans, a white button up shirt and a black blazer. He had agreed to meet Jun in front of Jun’s apartment so they could head to the party together. He glanced around the street and felt the nerves he was trying to suppress starting to bubble up again. He’d already had his tongue in Jun’s mouth, and his hand nearly in his pants, but this was going to be their first actual date and he didn’t want to fuck things up before they had the opportunity to really try anything.

“You look good!” Jun called out appreciatively as he exited his building and headed towards Sho.

“Thanks,” Sho replied with a smile, “I Googled ‘men’s party attire’ and GQ assured me that a well-tailored jacket was always a safe bet,” Sho explained.

“You’re trusting that trash?” Jun asked with a good-natured scowl at the mention of their competitor.

“If _Tempest_ offered advice about menswear maybe I could have consulted you. As it is I didn’t really think wedges would anchor my outfit and make my legs look slimmer,” Sho retorted.

“Stilettos? Maybe. Wedges? Definitely not,” Jun agreed with a smile and shoved his hands in his pockets. “C’mon, let’s get going.”

Sho shadowed Jun as he circulated the party and chatted with the other party goers. He was having trouble remembering the names of everyone and didn’t think he had ever been surrounded by this many attractive people. Jun cast him a sympathetic look when the model he was chatting with mentioned to Sho that she knew an excellent stylist who would be more than happy to help him with his hair.

“Sho-chan?”

“Masaki, thank God,” Sho breathed in relief causing Jun to snort into his wine glass in an undignified manner.

“You came with MatsJun?” Aiba asked curiously as they stepped away from Jun and the model. At Sho’s affirmative nod he grinned. “Then I guess your date last Friday night was a hit.”

“How do you know about that? And it wasn’t a date—we had a few beers with Nino,” Sho explained hastily.

“Jun told Becky you guys went out. He said Nino was there too but ditched you guys so you hung out by yourselves after that,” Aiba replied.

“That is true, but I don’t think it counts as a date,” _especially since the only reason we were out was to take my mind off the plagiarism thing_ Sho added silently and threw a glance at the back of Jun’s head where he was still chatting with the model.

“Well, this definitely counts as a date then. That’s good, you guys should date, you will be good for each other!” Aiba said happily.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sho asked defensively.

“Just that you’re both so serious all the time. You could use a little more _fun_ ,”

Sho rolled his eyes at Aiba’s euphemistic use of the word.

“I have fun,” Sho mumbled casting another glance at Jun.

“What?” Aiba asked curiously.

“Nothing,” Sho amended quickly.

“Riiiight,” Aiba replied skeptically. “Anyway, we just got the schedule and The Tempest Tremors’ first game is in three weeks- you’re still coming, right?”

“Of course! Make sure to send me an e-mail so I can put it on my calendar,”

Aiba nodded and Sho felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to find Jun smiling at him.

“I know it’s still a little early, but I have everything I need for the article—are you ready to go?” Jun asked.

“Do you need me to fake tripping over the coffee table and spraining my ankle?”

Jun let out a loud laugh at Sho’s question and shook his head.

“I think we’re good.”

They both said their goodbyes to Aiba and headed out the door.

“Thanks for coming with me,” Jun told Sho as they exited the building and headed out onto the street.

“You looked like you could have handled that on your own,” Sho replied easily.

They had come to a stop a few feet from the door, neither sure where the rest of the night was heading.

“I could have, but then I wouldn’t have had the excuse to see you tonight,” Jun said smoothly.

“Good answer,” Sho said with a smile. “Now, where to next?”

“Are you hungry?”

“Starving,” Sho confirmed with a nod.

“Great. How about we go get some dinner. There’s a great noodle place a few blocks over if that sounds good?” Jun suggests.

“That would be perfect.”

Sho was thumbing the label on his bottle of beer as they waited for their food to arrive. He felt comfortable with Jun in a way that he wasn’t used to being comfortable around people he didn’t know very well, and that feeling of comfort was starting to bother him.

“So, where are you from?” Sho asked. He knew it was a lame question, but he also knew that formalities should be taken care of sooner or later if he really wanted to give anything between them a fair shot.

“Tokyo. You?” Jun returned.

“Same. I grew up in the city with my parents and my younger brother and sister. My brother is still in college, but my sister also went into journalism, but she took the television route.”

“My sister is an accountant” Jun replied with a smile. “My parents were glad she chose something normal since telling people their son writes the fashion column in a magazine isn’t what they dreamed of,” Jun told Sho with a shrug.

“You can’t always please your parents—trust me I know,” Sho said giving him a sympathetic smile.

Their conversation was interrupted when the server brought out their food and set it down in front of them. They both smiled gratefully and dug into the food.

“This is really good,” Sho said as he slurped up another mouthful of noodles.

“It is,” Jun agreed staring at him, “But don’t you need to breathe at some point?”

“Sorry, I told you I was starving,” Sho grinned at him sheepishly and set his chopsticks down before reaching for his beer.

“I understand, but tasting the food usually makes eating a more pleasant experience,” Jun admonished with a laugh.

“Not when I cook,” Sho countered quickly.

Jun laughed again and Sho had that feeling of being more at ease than he could have imagined being around Jun. The thought made him smile as he took another drink of his beer.

“We’ll have to fix that sometime,” Jun said easily as he took another bite of his own food.

After dinner they rode the train back to Jun’s apartment together and hammered out the final details of the plan they had devised to find out who exactly was behind leaking Sho’s articles.

“Ohno is going to send out the memo Monday morning so it doesn’t look too suspicious when I start to send my articles down later next week,” Sho relayed as they made their way up to Jun’s floor.

“That’s good. Have you decided on the topics yet?” Jun asked curiously.

“I have a few ideas, but I’m going to finalize everything Monday and get started,” Sho replied coming to a stop next to Jun. “Well, uh, I guess this is it then. Thank you for taking me with you tonight—I had a lot of fun.

“I would ask you in but we don’t need another repeat of last week just yet,” Jun smiled back at him.

“Inside would be bad,” Sho confirmed, but stepped forward until he backed Jun against the door. His hands coming up to frame Jun’s face as he leaned in to kiss him.

Jun eased into the kiss, his hands carding through Sho’s hair and his tongue running along Sho’s lower lip before slipping inside Sho’s mouth.

It wasn’t as extreme as their previous experience, but it was turning Sho on just as easily. He pulled back from the kiss and his hands slid down to Jun’s shoulders. Sho’s lips found purchase on a patch of skin just below Jun’s left ear and he sucked gently before grazing his teeth along the same patch.

Jun gasped and fisted his hands in Sho’s hair painfully.

A loud and disgruntled _Ahem_ from somewhere behind Sho had him springing back and spinning around. He locked eyes with an older woman before forcing himself to nod politely. He turned back to Jun with a wince.

“I’ll see you Monday,” Sho said with a small wave before turning around and giving the woman a smile.

Jun fumbled with his keys in the door and mumbled a quick goodnight before disappearing inside.

Sho’s train ride home was torture. He kept reliving the feel of Jun’s hands in his hair and the feel of his body where he had pressed up against him. By the time Sho got to his own apartment, he had worked himself up so much with just the thought of Jun that he was painfully hard.

He stumbled into his apartment and kicked his shoes off at the door. He didn’t bother turning on any lights as he stumbled blindly towards his bathroom, tossing his jacket onto the back of his couch along the way. Riding the train home had taken him back to high school and the many times he had to hide inconvenient erections in public places.

Once inside the bathroom, Sho turned the shower on to warm up as he began pulling his jeans and shirt off. He stepped beneath the spray and eased forward until he was hunched over, bracing himself against the wall, left arm over his face and right hand wrapped around his cock. He let out a shaky breath at finally being able to touch himself and wasn’t surprised that come was already beading at the head of his cock.

As he started pumping himself, his mind went back to Jun’s smile and the way his mouth looked wrapped around the neck of that bottle of water at lunch, the way Jun’s tongue felt in his mouth and the way that it would feel against his cock. He sighed and took a firmer hold on himself and started to move his hand faster, using the water to help his hand slide more easily. He let out a small grunt a few seconds later when he thumbed the head of his cock—he’d been hard too long to draw this out much longer. He fisted his cock again and imagined that Jun was with him, on his knees, mouth open wide as Sho rocked into him. Sho thrust into his hand several more times before he twisted his wrist and his hips stuttered as he came hard.

“Fuck,” He gasped and stood back to let the spray of the shower wash over him fully.

. . .

Monday morning Ohno sent out the memo as scheduled and other than hearing a few stray comments, it seemed to Sho that no one was suspicious.

“I have to move,” Jun told Sho solemnly as he sat down at his desk.

Sho looked at him blankly.

“My neighbor—the one that caught us—she keeps giving me this look whenever she sees me. And I found a safe sex pamphlet on my door this morning!” Jun said exasperated.

“Oh my god,” Sho said and shook his head in amusement.

“This is your fault,” Jun glared at him.

“Mine? I think we’re both equally responsible here,” Sho countered.

“No, you’re the one who—” Jun glanced around quickly and lowered his voice, “You’re the one who tried to jump me in my hallway,” Jun hissed.

“I’m not apologizing for that,” Sho replied quickly.

“I’m not asking you too, I’m just saying that you’re not the one who has to live next to this lady,” Jun whined and threw himself in his desk chair dramatically.

“Here’s some good news, no one seems suspicious about Ohno’s memo,” Sho changed the subject brightly.

“Why would they be?” Jun asked confused.

“I don’t know, sometimes people don’t like change?” Sho shrugged.

“True, but this policy will actually make work more efficient for everyone, so it was long overdue,”

Sho nodded then turned back to his computer to continue checking e-mails.

“Did you ever settle on what subjects to use for your next articles? Jun asked as he filtered through his own inbox.

“I did. I’m going to write about leading a healthier lifestyle, smart ways to spend your money and the pros and cons of the new Prime Minister’s policies,” Sho told him.

“Which are you going to focus on first?” Jun asked.

“The healthier lifestyle one—I can tie it in with the last one since some of my reducing electricity consumption options also lent themselves to leading a healthier life,” Sho told him with a smile. He’d already mapped out a few ideas over the weekend, so now it was only a matter of doing some research to make sure his opinions on the subject were sound.

“Are you going to start taking your own advice after the article?” Jun asked with a pointed look at the remnants of a muffin on Sho’s desk.

“Okay, I will admit I have been guilty of eating more pastries lately, but I’ve been balancing it out with more time at the gym,” Sho countered easily.

“You work out?” Jun asked, his eyebrows shooting up towards his hairline.

“Yeah, why?” Sho asked defensively

“I didn’t mean anything by that, it’s just that you don’t really seem like someone who would care about that sort of thing,” Jun said putting his hands in the air.

“If I want to keep eating muffins I have to be someone like that,” Sho told him with a smile. “Now as much as I love this little talk we’re having, I should probably write the article instead of just talking to you about it all morning.

Jun nodded his understanding and turned back to his own monitor while Sho started typing out his thoughts.  
. . .

Three weeks later Sho and Jun were walking towards the park where the Tremors were facing their first opponents, the Smashers. Sho had handed over his second article, ‘Good Buys’ to Ishigaki earlier that day and nothing had seemed amiss so far.

“Chinen-kun sent me an e-mail saying he was done with ‘Healthful Living’ it and that I could tell him when I was ready to discuss it any time that was convenient for me,” Sho told Jun as they reached the gate.

“Has Ohno heard from anyone about your ideas popping up anywhere else?” Jun asked as he pulled out his wallet to pay the entry fee. “Don’t worry, I got it,” he said when Sho produced his wallet as well.

“Thanks,” Sho said quickly. “No, he hasn’t heard anything yet, but he’s keeping a closer eye on it this time,” Sho replied and followed Jun inside. He stepped inside and gestured towards the right set of bleachers where the supporters were wearing the Tremors’ colors of yellow and green.

“I see Becky,” Sho told Jun before heading that way.

“Jun-kun, Sho-kun! We’re happy you’re here!” Becky said excitedly as she met them halfway down the bleachers. “We have a small section we’ve reserved and you each get one of these!”

Both Sho and Jun stared down at the green t-shirt with a yellow Tremors’ Supporter logo on the front and Sakurai and Matsumoto on the back respectively. They shared a look before turning back to the beaming woman in front of them.

“Thanks, Becky-chan,” Sho said with a smile before tugging it on over his own t-shirt.

Jun however seemed more reluctant.

“I didn’t know you were making shirts,” He said evenly.

“Nino mentioned that it would be cool to see everyone wearing them and then Masaki couldn’t get the idea out of his head. You know how he gets when he has an idea,” Becky explained.

Jun and Sho shared a laugh and followed Becky back up the bleachers to their small section.

“You just made it, the game’s about to start,” She told them excitedly as they settled onto the uncomfortable metal bench. “Are you going to put it on, Jun-kun?” She asked with a pointed look at the shirt still in Jun’s hand.

“Oh, right,” Jun said and quickly pulled the garment over his head and smoothed it out across his chest.

“It’s just a shirt, Jun,” Sho reminded him with a smile, “Even if it is a polyester blend,” he teased elbowing him lightly in the ribs.

Jun grumbled something at him, but Sho missed it because both teams started running out onto the field just then and everyone in the stands started clapping and cheering loudly.

During the fourth inning Aiba sent a line drive to the gap between center and left field and ended up scoring two runs before coming to a stop on second base. Their whole section was on their feet screaming for him with Becky being the loudest of them all.

“I can see why he likes playing, he’s pretty good!” Sho commented as they took their seats again.

“He and Nino grew up playing together, that’s why he was so excited when he found out the magazine was going to start a team,” Becky said then lowered her voice conspiratorially, “I think it’s Nino’s doing—he can get Ohno to agree to pretty much anything if he asks right,”

“That is truly disturbing,” Sho said with a laugh.

They watched as Nino hit a pop-up to right field and Aiba beat the throw home to make the score four to one.

“I’m going to go get something to eat, anyone else want anything while I’m down there?” Sho asked standing up.

“I’ll come with you,” Jun offered and lead the way towards the concession stand with Sho following close behind.

As they passed the bathroom, Sho was startled when Jun took hold of his wrist and pulled him inside.

“Jun what—are you serious right now?” Sho asked breathlessly as Jun took a quick look around and shoved him towards the last stall.

“If I have to wear this stupid shirt you’re going to have to compensate me,” Jun said locking the cubicle door. He turned around and leaned in to kiss a very willing Sho.

Sho’s hands automatically came up to rest on Jun’s shoulders and he returned the kiss eagerly. They’d had several dates in the last few weeks but had always seemed to stop just short of the next level. He’d wanted this for far too long and who was he to pass up the opportunity Jun was presenting?

“Think you can keep quiet?” Sho asked against Jun’s lips as his hands slid down Jun’s chest to rest on his belt buckle.

Jun inhaled sharply as Sho’s hands stilled, his own hands coming to rest on Sho’s sides.

Sho watched as Jun seemed to be silently debating with himself before he nodded quickly. Sho grinned and sank down to his knees and worked Jun’s belt open.

“Why do we always end up in bathrooms?” Jun asked quietly.

“Hey, you’re the one who dragged me in here. Maybe it can be our place,” Sho muttered from his position on the floor before pressing a kiss to Jun’s stomach. He enjoyed the way Jun’s stomach jumped at the unexpected touch and unfastened the button and pulled down Jun’s zipper as well.

“Our place is not going to be a bathroom,” Jun said dismissively.

Sho smiled up at him before pulling Jun’s pants down to leave Jun in just his boxer briefs.

“Will you just get on with it,” Jun complained, “Someone’s going to notice if we’re gone too long,”

Sho yanked Jun’s underwear down without another word and saw that he was already half hard.

“Now I know why you wanted to hurry,” Sho commented lightly before gripping Jun’s cock and leaning in to wrap his lips around him. He sucked gently and started bobbing his head and was pleased when just a few minutes later Jun was fully hard in his mouth.

Sho pulled his mouth off of Jun and ran his tongue along the side of his cock teasingly.

“Sho,” Jun breathed warningly tangling his fingers into Sho’s hair and yanking.

Sho got the message and returned to sucking, his head bobbing enthusiastically and working to take a bit more of Jun in each time. What he couldn’t get in his mouth he made sure to wrap his hand around so he could jerk him off.

They both froze when the door to the bathroom banged open a few minutes later and footsteps made their way towards one of the urinals along the far wall. They were out of sight, but sounds bounced easily off the concrete walls so they had to stay discreet. Sho could feel the way Jun’s whole body tensed up at the sounds and got an idea.

He smiled wickedly up at Jun and resumed sucking his cock, this time harder than before. Sho heard the low sound in the back of Jun’s throat and could feel the way that he was trying to hold himself back for fear of getting caught. He pulled back again, his mouth almost leaving Jun completely and swirled his tongue over the head of Jun’s cock before sliding back down as far as he could go and hollowed out his cheeks.

The sounds of the faucet and the mix of voices from outside covered Jun’s choked noise as he came in Sho’s mouth. Sho knew that the feeling of Jun’s cock heavy on his tongue was something that would stay with him for a while.

When Sho was back on his feet Jun pushed him up against the wall and kissed him hard. Sho’s hands made their way to cup Jun’s face as Jun’s hands fumbled with Sho’s pants and got the down enough to wrap his hand around Sho’s erection.

Sho buried his face in the crook of Jun’s neck as Jun started jerking him off, using his pre-come to make the movement easier.

“Fuck, yes” Sho groaned as he felt his orgasm building. Jun’s mouth was next to his ear.

“Your mouth was so good, Sho. So good. Next time I’ll let you see how good I am with my mouth,” Jun murmured, his lips tickling the shell of Sho’s ear.

Sho groaned into Jun’s neck before trailing his mouth up Jun’s jaw and kissing him again as he saw white and came into Jun’s hand.

“Am I going to have to watch out for you whenever we pass a bathroom now?” Sho asked a minute later as he was tucking himself back into his underwear and Jun was using what was probably too much toilet paper to wipe his hands off.

“Funny,” Jun said with a wry smile as he put himself back together as well and unlocked the door of the stall.

“We still have to get food,” Sho pointed out as they both washed their hands.

“I want some takoyaki,” Jun said thoughtfully as they exited the bathroom together.

When they finally reappeared at their section, the Tremors were back up to bat and Jun mumbled something about extremely long lines and indecisive old ladies by way of explanation when Becky shot him a curious look. Jun popped a takoyaki into his mouth to avoid saying more and Sho just smiled at her.

They all went for beers when the Tremors defeated the Smashers 5-2 with a walk-off homerun by Aiba.

. . .

The day before the new deadline Sho headed back to Ohno’s office. He had finished all of the final edits to his articles and so far nothing seemed amiss. Sho had taken time to sit down and discuss his articles with Chinen, Fujigaya, and Ishigaki and all three had been more than helpful throughout the process. As soon as he triple checked everything he would be good to go.

“I think we’re going to have to do this again next month,” Sho announced as he lowered himself into Ohno’s guest chair.

“Have you seen the new issue of Mint yet?” Ohno asked quietly.

At Sho’s shake of his head he continued.

“There’s an article titled ‘Smart Spending’ by a ‘Watanabe Masahiro’ with an emphasis on buying whatever goods you can pre-owned to cut down on costs.”

“Good Buys” was the article Ishigaki-kun had proofed. While it was true Sho didn’t know him well, he would be hard pressed to believe the kid had anything to do with leaking the article. He had offered a few of his own ideas to add to the article, one or two of which Sho had even included.

Watanabe Sho thought. The name sounded familiar but he couldn’t quite place it.

“We should talk to Ishigaki,” Ohno began, but stopped when Jun stalked into the room looking visibly upset.

“My fucking article is in Mint’s online edition.” Jun practically spit at them through clenched teeth.

“Shit,” Sho replied with a wince.

Ohno’s face turned pensive, his eyes narrowing and his bottom lip jutting out as he worked to process the information “Who proofed your article? Ohno asked Jun.

“Chinen,” Jun said tersely.

After a minute of thought Ohno picked up his phone and dialed.

“Morikami? Can you send Ishigaki-kun and Chinen-kun to my office please?” Ohno asked into the receiver calmly.

“We can’t print my article now,” the anger was fading from Jun’s voice and shifting to dread as he thought about the deadline.

“It’s okay, we’ll figure something out,” Ohno told Jun gently.

“Doesn’t Watanabe actually work for Mint though?” Sho asked suddenly.

Both Ohno and Jun gave him questioning looks as he stood and commandeered Ohno’s computer.

“I think we went to a conference together a couple of years ago and I know I have read his name before,” Sho explained as he navigated Mint’s online page and scanned the staff listing. Three fourths of the way down the page he found him. He keyed in the main contact number for the magazine on his cellphone before pushing back from the desk and brushing past both Jun and Sho on his way out the door.

“I’m going to talk to him,” Sho informed them and left without waiting for a response.

He passed Chinen and Ishigaki on his way to the elevator and placed the call. He asked to be connected with Watanabe and was relieved when he met no resistance.

“Hello, Watanabe-san?” So asked into the receiver. “My name is Sakurai Sho and I would like to speak with you about your article, “Smart Spending,” which was published in this month’s issue of Mint.

“In regards to what, exactly?” Watanabe asked him.

Sho furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, “About the content of your article. I have a question about your sources. Are you free for lunch?” What else would I want to talk about? Sho thought with a quick glance at his watch to check the time.

“Uh, I’m actually—”

“Great. Lunch in fifteen minutes. I’ll wait for you outside.”

True to his word, Sho was waiting outside of the Mint offices half an hour later. He’d been seething since he had gotten the news from Ohno earlier and on the walk over he had only had time to dwell.

“Sakurai-san?” A timid voice asked from behind him.

“Sho turned and came face to face with a weary-eyed man a few years older than himself.

“Watanabe?”

“Yes,” The man replied.

“Let’s talk,” Sho said at his confirmation and gestured toward a small café across the street.

They headed to a booth near the back and ordered coffee when the waitress came over to them.

“So how exactly did you get my article?” Sho asked after the waitress left.

“What are you—your article?” Watanabe asked, voice rising in pitch.

“Yes, ‘Smart Spending’, although my version is called ‘Good Buys,’” Sho said with a rueful smile. “How did you get it?” Sho asked again.

Watanabe paled and shifted uncomfortably in his seat ask he thanked the waitress when she returned with two mugs and a coffee urn.

“I don’t know his name,” Watanabe began, then threw up his hands defensively when Sho narrowed his eyes. “I swear, I don’t know his name. One of the guys in my department, Takada, he noticed I was having trouble because I got stuck writing the finance column this month because the person who usually writes it was on vacation and something happened—look all I know is that I was desperate and he offered a solution. He said he had a friend who had an article no one would miss.”

Sho stared back at him incredulously.

“I was desperate,” Watanabe’s voice was soft and he looked close to tears.

“What do you expect me to say?” Sho asked harshly. “That it’s okay? That I understand why you did it? Because it’s not and I don’t. There is no excuse for taking credit for someone else’s ideas. Especially when you don’t know who the hell wrote it in the first place,” Sho finished angrily.

Watanabe nodded in understanding.

“Did Takada give someone else an article? Someone named Honda?”

Watanabe’s brow furrowed and she shook his head, “I don’t know anyone named Honda,”

“Give me a minute,” Sho said after a minute and gestured towards his phone.  
He stepped away from the table and dialed Ohno’s number.

“I talked to Watanabe,” he said when Ohno picked up. “He got my article from a new staff member named Takada. He doesn’t know anything about Jun’s or who Honda is though.”

“Okay. Jun-kun and I talked to Chinen and Ishkigaki and both swear that they know nothing about how either article ended up in Mint.” Ohno said.

“Do you believe them?” Sho asked. He was still watching Watanabe as he alternated nervous glances at Sho and sips of his coffee.

“Where are you right now?” Ohno asked.

“At a diner across the street from Mint’s offices. I brought him here so we could talk,” Sho replied.

“I’m going to come there,” Ohno said and ended the call without further warning.

Sho waited with Watanabe in their booth and sipped his coffee. He was a little shocked that Ohno had decided to come, but if he thought about it, it really did make sense. Ohno might seem like someone who slacks off, but when it is called for he can be extremely intimidating.

Sho saw Ohno coming a few minutes later and excused himself to flag him down outside the restaurant before bringing him inside and introducing him to Watanabe.

“So Takada offered you help by giving you a copy of Sho-kun’s article when you were having trouble meeting deadline?” Ohno asked him carefully.

Watanabe nodded miserably.

Sho was getting more frustrated with the errant reporter as their time together went on. He’d barely said a word since he’d given his weak excuses for plagiarizing and Sho was nearing his wits end.

“What about Chinen or Ishigaki? Do you know them?” Ohno asked.

Watanabe shook his head this time and Sho resisted the urge to shove him off the seat.

“What was their side of the story?” Sho asked Ohno curiously.

“Both denied any involvement even after Jun threatened their lives,” Ohno said with a small smile. “He’s scrambling to come up with something before deadline now or he would have come with me,” Ohno finished with a glance at Watanabe who shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

“Let’s go talk to Takizawa and Takada,” Ohno told them and stepped out of the booth.

Sho retrieved his wallet and threw some bills on the table to cover their check before and Ohno followed Watanabe out of the diner and across the street to Mint’s building and through the labyrinth of offices.

Sho took the time to glance around as they walked. Mint was set up a lot like their own offices, with open cubicles and a few offices lining the walls. Sho even recognized a few faces from different events he had attended throughout the years.

They stalled in front of a large office and Watanabe shifted from one foot to another.

“Can I go inside first?” He asked quietly.

“No, we’ll go in together,” Ohno replied simply and gestured for Watanabe to lead the way.

Sho followed Ohno inside and stood just behind him.

“Ohno-san, what can I help you with?” Takizawa asked, his eyes widening as the three men entered.

“It seems like we have a problem,” Ohno began quietly and gave Takizawa a quick rundown of all that had transpired between him and Watanabe.

Sho was curious when Ohno mentioned that Watanabe had gotten the article form another staff member without naming Takada directly but shrugged it off.

“This is ludicrous,” Takizawa complained as Ohno finished speaking.

“What are you trying to hide?” Sho asked sharply.

“I’m not trying to hide anything,” Takizawa laughed. “I just think it is pathetic that Ohno cannot accept the fact that his staff is obviously out of their league and must resort to stealing articles from freelance journalists,” Takizawa said loftily.

“Can we speak with Takada, please?” Ohno may have phrased it as a question, but the demand was clear from his tone.

Takizawa visibly blanched at the mention of Takada.

“He’s not in the office today,” Takizawa said a little too quickly for Sho’s liking.

Ohno’s eyes narrowed and Sho opened his mouth to respond, but Takizawa cut him off.

“I don’t know what you are playing at Ohno. But we are not going to do this right now. If you want to speak with any more of my staff members, please make an appointment through me first. Now, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,”

“I saw him earlier,” Watanabe offered. “He’s usually only in part time, but I think he is still here.”

Sho watched interestedly as Takizawa’s fists clinched on the table. Watanabe had just taken a huge risk on their behalf.

“Get him,” Ohno said to Watanabe who followed the order without question.

Takizawa made to stand up, but changed his mind and settled back in his seat and stared at Ohno and Sho.

“You knew about the articles all along, didn’t you?” Sho asked Takizawa quietly. Takizawa ignored him, but Sho continued. “What are you getting from this then? What exactly did I do? What did Matsumoto do?” Sho’s hands were clenched at his sides and he felt his arms start to shake as his anger grew with each word. He wanted an explanation and would not leave the office without one.

“I don’t think you were the target, Sho-kun,” Ohno said and put a steadying hand on Sho’s shoulder. “I think—” Ohno was cut off when a familiar voice sounded from the doorway.

“You needed to see me?”

Sho spun around and felt his jaw go slack when he caught sight of Fujigaya standing in the doorway just as Fujigaya saw him and Ohno.

“What the fuck?” Sho breathed.

Ohno made a surprised noise but recovered quickly.

“Takada?” He asked curiously.

Fujigaya’s eyes bounced from Takizawa to Ohno to Sho. “I—what are—Ohno-san,”

“Take a seat,” Ohno replied evenly and gestured towards one of the unused guest chairs in the office.

Takizawa let out a loud breath and sank back into his chair and turned towards Fujigaya, “Do what he says.”

Fujigaya gingerly made his way to the seat and perched himself on the edge, ready to flee at any time.

“It was fucking you all along?” Sho asked as Fujigaya’s eyes were fixed on the floor. “What the hell?”

“I deserved that promotion,” Fujigaya said so low that Sho could barely hear him. “There have been so many times that you could have promoted me,” his eyes snapped up to Ohno, “but you didn’t do it. I’ve worked harder than anyone else and every single time you passed me up. I was sick of it.”

Sho’s head was spinning. None of those made any sense to him. “If you were pissed at Ohno-san, then why did you target me?”

“You were expendable,” Fujigaya shrugged. “If I could get you out of editorial, then I should have been next in line to move to editorial.”

Sho blinked back at him, his mouth working for a response but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t find the words.

“I couldn’t believe when he kept you on and started talking about moving Matsumoto over,” Fujigaya continued, eyes going back to Ohno. “So I decided that if I couldn’t advance at _Tempest_ I would just leave.”

“But you had to do as much damage as possible before you left. So you went after Jun-kun to try and discredit the whole magazine?” Ohno asked mildly.

Fujigaya’s smile had Sho seeing red again.

“How did you come to Mint?” Ohno asked.

“I met Takizawa-san when I was checking out a source for Okada-san. He told me that if I ever got bored running errands I should call him about a job. So I took him up on that offer.”

Before he had thought it through, Sho had crossed to where Fujigaya sat in the chair and took hold of the armrests, shaking them as he spoke, “You are a fucking coward and I am sorry I ever considered you as someone worth my time.”

Fujigaya flinched at Sho’s words and dropped his gaze back to the floor as Ohno pulled Sho back again.

“You will both be hearing from _Tempest’s_ lawyers. If you have anything else to say, please direct it towards them.” Ohno said and lead Sho out of the room.

. . .

Sho was silent on the way back to the offices, he felt his anger dissipating with every step and was relieved to know that, for the time being at least, he wouldn’t have to worry about looking over his shoulder when writing his articles.

His relief turned to guilt when he got back to the office and saw Jun still typing furiously as he scrambled to finish his new article before deadline.

“Hey,” he said quietly and offered Jun a sympathetic smile when Jun turned around to greet him.

“What happened?” Jun asked as he turned back to face his monitor.

“It was Fujigaya. He’s been working with Takizawa from Mint to try and bring Ohno down for the past couple of months because he feels like he didn’t get the recognition he deserves or some bullshit like that,” Sho explained, anger seeping back into his voice as he spoke.

“I’m going to kill him,” Jun muttered as he continued typing.

“Ohno is calling Chinen and Ishigaki now to explain the situation. At least they weren’t on the hook too long,” Sho said sinking down into his own chair.

The rest of the evening Sho offered what little support he could—mainly getting coffee as requested and picking up some takeout for dinner so Jun wouldn’t have to stop working. Finally at 11:00 the article was on Ohno’s desk and ready for print.

“I need a drink,” Jun moaned and rubbed the back of his neck.

Sho gave him a sympathetic smile and reached out to replace Jun’s hand with his own, squeezing gently to alleviate some of the tension. “Let’s get out of here,” he suggested quietly.

Jun nodded gratefully and they made quick work of packing up to leave for the day.

“I’m proofing all of my own articles from now on,” Jun grumbled as the elevator doors shut behind them.

“I hear that,” Sho replied leaning over and giving Jun a quick kiss. A drink might help to finally settle him down and stop imagining all the ways he could murder Fujigaya.

Sho was surprised a second later when he found himself being pinned to the elevator wall, Jun’s hands in his hair and his tongue in his mouth. Just as suddenly as he started, Jun was gone, standing a foot away and grinning as the doors slid back open to reveal the lobby.

“Come home with me,” Sho said firmly and grabbed Jun’s wrist, tugging him towards the exit without giving him the opportunity to respond.

On the train ride home Sho flashed back to the image he’d conjured of Jun on his knees in his shower after their first date. He glanced over to Jun and felt a shiver of anticipation of where the night may lead shoot up his spine and shifted uncomfortably as he felt himself beginning to get hard.

When they finally got to Sho’s apartment he barely waited until the door was shut before he shoved Jun up against the wall in the entryway and kissed him hard. His body was thrumming with need as he held Jun in place and ran his tongue along Jun’s lower lip.

Jun pulled back after a second and Sho had just enough time to give him a questioning look before Jun had their positions reversed and he found himself pinned by Jun for the second time that night. Jun’s knee was between his legs and Sho tested the grip Jun had on his arms before he flashed Jun a smirk and grinded against Jun’s thigh.

Jun inhaled deeply then narrowed his eyes before leaning in and catching Sho’s lower lip between his teeth. He pulled warningly as Sho continued to grind against him then finally bit down hard before releasing Sho’s lip.

Sho grunted at the pain and pulled Jun even closer so he could drag his lips up Jun’s jaw to his ear and nipping at his earlobe before shoving Jun back and stepping out of his own shoes. He grinned as Jun threw his arms out and took a step back in an effort to balance himself.

Sho dragged Jun through his apartment into his bedroom, cringing internally at the small pile of clothes on his floor. He shrugged it off a second later when Jun shoved him towards the bed.

Sho turned to face Jun and reached out, pulling him in by the hips and crushing their mouths together again. He ran his hands up Jun’s sides and across his chest before making quick work of the buttons on Jun’s shirt and tossing it to the floor. Jun mirrored his actions and soon they were pressed together skin to skin for the first time.

Sho let his mouth wander down Jun’s chest, stopping to tease Jun’s left nipple with his teeth, smiling when Jun let out a noise of surprise. He sucked the affected area gently then bit down again as he pushed Jun towards the bed while working his own belt open.

Jun settled on the bed, content to watch Sho strip completely as he tried to get his breathing back under control.

“What are you waiting for?” Sho cocked an eyebrow and looked down at Jun’s pants pointedly. He crossed over to the nightstand and retrieved a bottle of lube and a few condoms from the top drawer before setting them on top of the stand.

Jun was in the process of sliding his pants off his ankles when Sho joined him on the bed. He kneeled over him and leaned down putting a hand on either side of Jun’s body before leaning in and kissing him again. Sho ran his right hand down Jun’s side, working his fingers underneath the waistband of Jun’s boxers and tugging them down a little before moving his mouth to Jun’s clavicle and nipping at the bone.

“If you’re not going to do it, I guess I’ll have to do it myself,” Sho said against Jun’s skin and he sat up and moved so that he could pull Jun’s underwear off the rest of the way himself.

“I was going to do it,” Jun huffed.

Sho was pleased to see the pink tint to Jun’s cheeks. “Not fast enough,” Sho said again and straddled Jun. Sho ran his hands up Jun’s chest enjoying the feel of Jun’s skin under his fingers. He was pleasantly surprised at how solid Jun was under his hands. He scraped his nails down Jun’s chest lightly, smirking at the shiver it drew from Jun.

“That tickles,” Jun complained.

“Does it?” Sho asked mildly repeating the action several more times.

Jun squirmed under him but Sho persisted, delighting in the gasping protests he was drawing from Jun and finally relenting when Jun’s hands wrapped around his wrists warningly. Sho smiled down at Jun, pulling out of his grip and leaning over to snag the lube.

Sho scooted back on the bed and settled himself on his knees between Jun’s thighs. Sho looked down the length of Jun’s body, appreciating the sight. Jun’s cock was already starting to harden where it  
rested against his hip and Sho reached out without warning, wrapping his hand around him and jerking slowly a few times causing Jun to let out noise of surprise even as his body started to respond.

Sho pulled his hand back a moment later and smiled at the frustrated noise Jun let out. He flipped the cap on the bottle and squirted a sizable amount of the substance in his hand before tossing it to the other side of the bed and coating his fingers while watching Jun.

“Will you hurry up?” Jun grumbled and shifted around until he was leaning on his elbows and staring down the bed at Sho.

Sho smiled back at him and reached out using one hand to pull Jun’s ass cheeks apart and used his right index finger to circle his hole before pushing in. Sho worked methodically, enjoying the feel of Jun’s body around his finger. When Jun felt relaxed enough around him, he pressed a second finger in alongside the first, crooking them a little and stretching Jun even more.

A flush was working its way down Jun’s chest as Sho prepared him and Sho reached out with his other hand, running his hand down the hard planes of Jun’s stomach and wrapped his hand around Jun’s erection again. He pumped him in time with his fingers thrusting in and out and Jun’s head lolled back as he let out another moan.

“Would you just fuck me already?” Jun finally snapped, letting out another curse and gripping the sheets beneath him tightly as Sho’s fingers successfully found his prostate.

Sho let out a laugh, but the noises Jun was making went straight to his dick. He continued moving his fingers in and out of Jun for another minute until Jun was writhing beneath him. Then, without warning, he pulled his fingers out and reached over to the bedside table, grabbing one of the condoms and ripping it open. Jun was panting lightly and Sho took his time rolling the condom onto himself.

Sho was about to reach for the lube again when Jun reached down for his own cock in Sho’s absence. He batted Jun’s hand away and quickly found the bottle of lube. He popped the top and squirted another generous amount before slicking himself up and kneeling in between Jun’s open legs once again.

He lined himself up with Jun’s entrance before pushing in slowly, as much for Jun’s benefit as for his own. He’d been thinking about fucking Jun for almost as long as he’d known him and the whole ride home he had worked himself up with the thought of this.

His pace was intentionally slow as he rocked his hips forward so Jun could feel every inch of him as he pushed in and dragged himself back out. He ran both hands up Jun’s chest, delighting in the yelp of surprise Jun let out as Sho pinched both of his nipples the same time as he thrust into Jun harder than before.

Jun scowled back at him and Sho couldn’t help the smile on his face. He’d never thought Jun would be capable of these sorts of noises.

Sho’s victory was short lived as Jun suddenly locked his ankles behind Sho’s back and pulled him in. He moaned at the unexpected sensation and couldn’t help but thrust in again, harder, as Jun clenched around him.

“Fuck,” Sho breathed out as he thrust in once more. “Let me go,” he said pulling back against Jun’s legs. Jun resisted, but Sho gave a quick pinch to his inner thigh and Jun released him.

Sho’s breath was coming in pants to match Jun’s and his heart was thudding in his chest. He eased out of Jun completely and took a second to get his bearings again. He was embarrassingly close to coming just from seeing Jun splayed out before him and reached down to rikk his condom off, tossing it toward the trash can before positioning himself over Jun once again to rub their erections together.

Jun hissed at the sensation and Sho wrapped a hand around them both to begin jerking them off together. He leaned down, pressing open-mouthed kisses to Jun’s chest and neck, then finally crushed their mouths together in a bruising kiss. He grunted into Jun’s mouth as he came hard across Jun’s chest. A minute later, Jun followed him over the edge.

He eased himself down next to Jun in the bed and lay back, staring at the ceiling as he got his breathing back under control. “As soon as I can think again I’ll get you a washcloth,” Sho said as he took Jun’s face in his hand and pulled him into another kiss.

. . .

The next morning Sho woke early and eased out of bed, managing not to wake Jun in the process. He pulled on a pair of athletic shorts and made his way to the kitchen to get the coffee started and find something that could pass as breakfast.

Other than the Thai he’d had for dinner a few nights back, his refrigerator was pathetically empty, though he did manage to find a carton of eggs that wasn’t passed the expiration date.

“Omelets,” Sho began as he found a bowl and started beating the eggs together. “Omelets should be safe.”

A few minutes later he was cursing the chicken that had laid the eggs when his first attempt burned and stuck to the pan so bad he had to get a new one out from the cabinet.

“Do you want me to take over?”

Jun’s voice startled Sho and he sighed as he turned to face him. “Sure,” Sho agreed dejectedly.

Jun gave him a sympathetic smile and Sho watched in awe as Jun executed two perfectly cooked omelets in half the time that Sho had used to burn one beyond recognition.  
“  
You can cook and you’re smart as hell. You really are going to steal my job, aren’t you?” Sho lamented, banging his head on the table as Jun set his breakfast down before him.

“Steal your job?” Jun asked, confusion clouding his tone as he took the seat opposite.

“Ohno said he wanted you to try your hand at the editorial stuff,” Sho explained as he cut off a section of omelet and took a bite. “This is delicious,” he added giving Jun a smile.

“I already told him I’m not interested,” Jun grumbled as he took his own bite of food. “I made it clear when he told me I could share the cubicle that I had no intention of moving departments. I’m happy in fashion and I heard that Tsubasa-san was thinking about moving over to Health and Fitness soon. I want to be there to take over.”

“How do you know all of that?” Sho blinked back at him in surprise.

“Fashion writers can’t keep their mouths shut,” Jun shrugged.

“Maybe you really should consider investigative journalism,” Sho said seriously.

Jun laughed at him.

. . .

By the following week word had gotten out about Fujigaya and Takizawa, and Mint’s sales had plummeted. The lawyers had also informed Ohno that Mint’s Board of Directors had voted to oust Takizawa as Editor-in-Chief and Fujigaya lost his place on staff.

“It doesn’t seem like enough,” Sho complained to Jun as he read the story in Asahi Shimbun.

“I know but at least everyone will know to look out for them from now on,” Jun offered.

“I guess,” Sho sighed heavily. He knew there wasn’t anything else he could do. Both Fujigaya and Takizawa had been exposed and that had to be enough.

“Sho-chan!”

Aiba’s voice interrupted Sho’s brooding.

“Becky-chan wanted to confirm you and MatsuJun coming over for dinner tonight,” Aiba said from the doorway.

Sho glanced at Jun who was looking back at him with a warm smile.

“We’ll be there,” Sho replied. Maybe things had worked out for the best.


End file.
